Articles Posted in CFTC Enforcement Actions

CFTC Orders Florida Firms, Joseph Glenn Commodities LLC and JGCF LLC, and Owners Scott Newcom and Anthony Pulieri to Pay over $1 Million in Restitution and Penalties for Fraudulent Off-Exchange Transactions in Precious Metals with Retail Customers

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently issued an Order filing and settling charges against two Boca Raton, Fla., companies, Joseph Glenn Commodities LLC (Joseph Glenn) and JGCF LLC (JGCF), and their sole owners and principals, Scott Newcom and Anthony Pulieri (the Respondents) for engaging in illegal, fraudulent off-exchange financed transactions in precious metals with retail customers.

The CFTC Order, filed on March 27, 2013, requires Joseph Glenn, JGCF, Newcom, and Pulieri to pay approximately $635,000 in restitution to customers for their losses and to return approximately $330,000 remaining in customers’ accounts. The Order requires Pulieri to pay a civil monetary penalty of $100,000. The Order also permanently prohibits the Respondents from registering with the CFTC and imposes a five-year trading ban on trading for others. In addition, the Order prohibits the Respondents from violating the Commodity Exchange Act, as charged, and requires them to comply with certain undertakings, including fully and expeditiously cooperating with the CFTC.

United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Hunter Wise Commodities, LLC., et. al., Case No. 12-81311-Civ-Middlebrooks, Southern District of Florida.

As a follow up to our recent post concerning the above referenced matter, the Court on February 25, 2013 followed its Order Appointing Special Corporate Monitor of February 22, 2013, by issuing its Order on Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction, which granted the same as more fully referenced in the below link.

Interestingly, the Court provided a brief discussion concerning the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), with the most recent expansion of that jurisdiction being that contained in Section 742 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which granted the CFTC new authority over certain leveraged, margined, or financed commodity transactions with retail customers, including the authority to prohibit fraud in connection with such transactions in interstate commerce.  This decision is extremely important for retail customers purchasing and selling precious metals with the use of leverage.

Precious Metals Fraud and Misrepresentation:

CFTC Charges Hunter Wise Commodities, Lloyds Commodities, C.D. Hopkins Financial, United States Capital Trust, Newbridge Alliance, Blackstone Metals Group, and their Principals in Multi-Million Dollar Fraudulent Precious Metals Scheme

CFTC alleges that defendants conducted illegal, off-exchange commodity transactions, and deceived customers in connection with financed transactions in precious metals

CFTC Charges Florida Resident William Jeffery Chandler with Forex Fraud and Misappropriation

Federal court enters emergency order freezing defendant’s assets and protecting books and records

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that on September 11, 2012, Judge James D. Whittemore of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida entered an emergency order freezing the assets of defendant William Jeffery Chandler of Ft Myers, Fla. The court’s order also prohibits Chandler from destroying or altering books and records. The judge set a hearing on the CFTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction for September 26, 2012.

Florida Federal Court Orders Claudio Aliaga and His Company, CMA Capital Management, LLC, to Pay $5.5 Million in Penalties and Restitution for Operating a Forex Ponzi Scheme

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that it obtained a judgment for $5.5 million in restitution and civil monetary penalties against Claudio Aliaga and CMA Capital Management, LLC (CMA), of Miami Lakes, Florida, to settle an action charging defendants with operating a Ponzi scheme involving the fraudulent solicitation of at least $4.5 million from at least 125 individuals to invest in foreign currency (forex) managed accounts and/or a pooled investment.

On September 26, 2012, Judge Marcia G. Cooke of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered a consent order of permanent injunction against defendants. Specifically, the order requires the defendants to jointly pay restitution of $1.1 million, Aliaga to pay a civil monetary penalty of $3.3 million, and CMA to pay a civil monetary penalty of $1.1 million. The order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against the defendants.

Federal Court Orders Martin B. Rosenthal to Pay $1.2 Million for Aiding and Abetting the Making of False Statements to the NFA, Failing to Register as a Commodity Trading Advisor, and Violating a Previous CFTC Order

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that it obtained a federal court order requiring Martin B. Rosenthal of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to pay a civil monetary penalty of $598,000 and disgorgement of $598,000 for aiding and abetting the willful concealment of material facts and the making of false statements to the National Futures Association (NFA), violating a previous CFTC order, and acting as an unregistered Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA). The order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against Rosenthal and permanently prohibits him from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act, as charged.

The consent order for permanent injunction, entered on September 27, 2012, by Judge James I. Cohn of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, stems from a CFTC complaint filed on March 12, 2012.

Federal Court Orders Oscar Hernandez and His Companies to Pay $1.4 Million in Penalties and Bars Him from the Commodities Industry for Operating a Commodity Pool Ponzi Scheme

In a related criminal proceeding, Hernandez sentenced to 57 months imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently announced that it obtained a federal court order requiring defendants Oscar Hernandez of Miami, Fla., and Midway Trading Company, LLC (Midway) and Conquest Investment Group, Inc. (Conquest), both Florida companies owned and controlled by Hernandez, to pay a $1.4 million civil monetary penalty to settle CFTC charges that they operated a multi-million dollar commodity pool Ponzi scheme and misappropriated customer funds for personal use.

Federal Court in Florida Imposes $350,000 Penalty against GlobeFX Club, Inc. and Jeremy Munson Globe for Making False Statements to the National Futures Association and Permanently Bars Defendants from Commodities Industry:

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently obtained a federal court consent order of permanent injunction requiring defendants GlobeFX Club, Inc. (GFC) and Jeremy Munson Globe, both of Homestead, Fla., jointly and severally to pay a $350,000 civil monetary penalty for concealing material facts and making false statements or misrepresentations to the National Futures Association (NFA) during an investigation and audit.

The order, entered on October 4, 2012, by Judge Paul C. Huck of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against the defendants and permanently prohibits them from violating the Commodity Exchange Act, as charged.

Broker/Dealer and Account Executive Fraud, Misrepresentation and Mismanagement Litigation and Arbitration Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq.

CFTC Charges Florida Firm Angus Jackson, Inc. and its CFO Martin H. Bedick with Making False, Fictitious, or Fraudulent Statements to the NFA

Martin B. Rosenthal, an unregistered trader, allegedly aided and abetted Bedick in making false and misleading statements to the NFA; Rosenthal is also charged with violating a trading prohibition for failure to comply with an existing CFTC order

Broker/Dealer and Account Executive Fraud, Mismanagement and Misrepresentation Litigation and Arbitration Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq.

March, 2012:

CFTC Revokes Registrations of Richard Allan Finger, Jr. and his Company, Black Diamond Futures, LLC Based on Criminal Action

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